Whitman auto shop security footage helps track down car thief

Tuesday

Apr 15, 2014 at 11:32 PM

A Whitman man was charged with stealing two vehicles last week.

WHITMAN – Christian Pinto, a 25-year-old Whitman man, was thinking ahead when it came to stealing his neighbors’ black Chevrolet Tahoe, police said.Pinto allegedly took the keys out of the glove box a few weeks before he stole the Tahoe from a residence on Temple Street last Tuesday night, Police Chief Scott Benton said.

However, what Pinto apparently did not prepare for was a security camera recently installed at the auto body shop at the same location.

After taking the SUV sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday morning, April 9, Pinto allegedly parked it at the nearby Harding Pond Conservation Area and then walked back to Temple Street.

There, police said he encountered a white Lexus with the keys in the ignition. Pinto stole that vehicle as well, Benton said.

Wednesday morning, the owner of the Tahoe got together with the owner of Star Auto Sales at 470 Temple St., to review the security footage from the night before.

Watching the tape, they saw Pinto steal the Tahoe and soon thereafter saw him walking down Temple Street, Benton said.

Police arrived and arrested Pinto, charging him with two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle and two felony counts of breaking-and-entering in a vehicle in the nighttime, as well as larceny over $250.

Benton said Pinto told police he had taken the Tahoe’s keys when the opportunity arose previously and held on to them until last week’s alleged theft.

Pinto has been charged previously with larceny and possession of marijuana, Benton said.